A trip on the Silk Road

I had a trip to Dunhuang last week. The city is in a desert in the southwest of China that lies along the Silk Road.

The most famous places to visit are the Mogao Caves, part of the nation’s key cultural relic preservation organ, named Thousand Buddha’s Caves. The Mogao Caves have a 2,000 year history. A Buddhist found the mountain and chose to build the Buddha and paint on the walls there.

Now there are 735 caves and 2415 painted sculptures. The most important artifacts are 50,000 antique books found in one cave about 100 years ago. The books record the culture of a 1000 year history.

Minsha mountain and Yueya lake are other must-see sightseeing places. I rode a camel through the desert. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for ancient people to live and trade in this situation.

Dunhuang city is very small. You should have a meal in the night market and drink some local drinks.